Lamps and lighting fixtures have long been used to provide basic illumination and for specialty purposes such as, but not limited to, theatrical lighting, entertainment lighting, sports lighting, parking lot lighting, street lighting, and many other uses too numerous to list here. A majority of these lamps and lighting fixtures use devices such as various types of reflectors, various types of lenses, or a combination of these said devices in order to increase the efficiency and therefore increase usable light output of the light source being used.
It is well known that in many instances it is advantageous to provide a strong, focused beam that can be directed to a relatively small area. Spotlights of all types are an excellent illustration of the usefulness of such beams. On the other hand, there are many circumstances in which a divergent beam of light is particularly desirable. For example, a strong divergent beam of light is often used for nighttime exterior illumination purposes.
Many attempts have been made to modify or vary the construction of ordinary light projection systems in an effort to find a more efficient and satisfactory design. Prior light projection systems and illumination devices are subject to several disadvantages and drawbacks, however. One such drawback is the fact that undue complication of the reflector and lens configuration decreases the commercial marketability of the system and degrades efficiency. Another drawback is that, in spite of various lens and reflector arrangements, a light projection system which controls the direction and projection of a large percentage of available light rays, and is capable of combining substantially all of those available light rays with a minimum amount of degradation or loss of efficiency, has only been possible using light sources with a small diameter or point source light generation area.
Spherical, Parabolic, and Ellipsoidal type reflector systems have long been used in the ordinary light projection systems mentioned above. The Cone shaped reflector is one of the oldest and most easily made reflector systems but the system was discarded because no one ever found a way to use this reflector to produce a beam easily controlled, efficient, and able to produce an even beam field. FIG. 20A is a Prior Art example of a traditional cone shaped reflector system using a high output incandescent lamp with a small filament. FIG. 21A is a Prior Art example of an LED package system using a low profile cone shaped reflector section coupled with an encapsulating lens. And FIG. 22A is a Prior Art example of a Cree U.S. Pat. No. 9,084,328 B2 patent color mixing led package with a cone shaped segment and diffraction lens.
It should also be appreciated that, because of the continuing energy crisis, lamps and lighting fixtures with the ability to use high efficiency light sources with a square, rectangular, or unconventional shape with a large diameter or cross sectional dimension, such as LEDs (light emitting diodes), and do so with maximum efficiency, is extremely desirable.
Also, because of the advent of semiconductor or LED light source usage, there is a need to produce an LED die package that can extract a maximum amount of light produced by the die and couple it into the existing environment at an angle that is most advantageous to lighting fixture designers. Until now, the most efficient LED and die package sources have a wide angle of radiation because there is a large amount of loss in efficiency when using conventional means to produce an LED die and package with a spot or narrow field of radiation. It should be appreciated that this hinders the production of smaller more efficient spotlight projection systems used in many industries. LEDs are also available in various colors and this has created additional problems when trying to create color changing LEDs, lamps, lighting fixtures, or video projection systems. There have been many complicated attempts to overcome the problem of having separate color light sources feed into systems using conventionally accepted spherical, parabolic, and ellipsoidal reflector systems. None have been completely successful. It should be appreciated that there is a need for a color mixing system that eliminates all haloing or color shadowing and at the same time virtually eliminates the conventional problems of “Etendue” and “throughput” in projection systems.
Additionally it is desirable for the light projection system to provide a beam field where the light is distributed as evenly as possible in order to be useful in exacting applications such as live theatre productions, video, TV production, film projection industry, and electronic projection industry such as computer, cell phone, and home television and entertainment systems.
Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved projection system with increased efficiency which can combine and control substantially all of the light emanating from a light source. The system must be simple to construct, inexpensive, and sufficiently utilitarian so that a device embodying the system could be manipulated to produce either a spotlight-type beam or a divergent beam. Additionally, the improved projection system should be readily adaptable for use in all types of lamps or as part of a portable illumination device as well as a much larger permanent or semi-permanent lighting installation device. There is also a need in the automotive and aircraft industries to produce a simple, low cost, and efficient light system to project a very even and tightly controlled beam of light. The present invention fulfills all these needs.